


No Reset

by StarRoseColors



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Abandonment, Basically everyone is/was caught up in a cycle of abuse caused by the Diamonds' abuse of Pink, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Mentions of emotional/psychological abuse, Spinel was never reset, Steven Universe: The Movie, Temporary Amnesia, mentions of abandonment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2020-10-10 05:44:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20522915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarRoseColors/pseuds/StarRoseColors
Summary: Spinel was never hit by the rejuvenator scythe.So, Steven has to deal with four to three Crystal Gems with amnesia, an injector slowly pouring poison into the Earth, and a Cheshire Cat-like enemy who thinks this is the greatest game she's ever come up with.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have a Tumblr and this came from this: https://starrosecolors.tumblr.com/post/187486503325/i-just-had-an-au-idea-what-if-spinel-ended-up

It only took a moment.

  
Steven watched as the Crystal Gems, cut in half with expressions of horror on their faces, poofed. Their gems dropped to the grass. The unfamiliar gem stood there in a pose, the odd scythe still raised.

  
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” The shield came easily and Steven soon stood, battle-ready. Anger burned through his veins. He had been so, _so _ready for all of this to be over. He was so sick of battles and fighting and problems and losing innocence. He thought it was over!

  
The gem giggled, slinging the scythe over her shoulder. For some reason, the giggle sounded _warped _to Steven- like that wasn’t who this gem was supposed to be. Like something had twisted until it finally broke in her. “Aw, what’s the matter Steven? Miss your friends already? Well, don’t worry…”

  
She jumped into the air with a vicious grin.

  
“YOU’RE RIGHT BEHIND THEM!”

  
The scythe slashed. His shield broke and Steven felt the funny jolt that usually came with messing with a destabilizer. Glancing down and patting himself over, he saw pink disappearing into his veins. He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “That was nothing!”

  
For some reason, she chuckled, looking rather pleased with herself. “Oh? Then I guess you won’t mind if I do it _again!_” 

  
The scythe came too fast for him to dodge. Over and over and over again, the scythe slashed as she laughed maniacally. Finally, Steven managed to grab the handle, the pink lingering. The motion brought him face to face with her.

  
“Cut it out!”

  
She raised a brow, still smirking. “You don’t poof, do you? Figured as much.” Then she moved so they were eye to eye. “But just wait! Your human half won’t stand a chance against my injector! Not after what I just did to your gem.”

  
He grunted, trying to stay in place. “What are you talking about?”

  
“You weren’t always a powerful hero, were you?”

  
Then she pressed some sort of button, releasing the scythe. Steven fell on his butt with a grunt, still holding onto the weapon. He watched as the blade disappeared into the handle. “Anyway,” she said, stretching. “It’ll be funny to watch you try. See ya around, Baby Pink!”

  
Steven watched with wide eyes as her arms looped around to create springs. Then she fell onto them. The springs launched her onto the ship and out of sight. He let out a grunt as the pink finally finished disappearing. Now that he was alone, he lifted his shirt up. That line about his gem worried him.

  
A small light in his gem was flickering.

  
“Oh no…” That couldn’t be good.

  
Steven glanced back at the injector. The gem was out of sight still. Then he sighed, gathering the gems and grabbing the weapon handle.

  
Then he started his way down the hill.

* * *

He called Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot about the injector. Then Steven set the gems on the table, then sat down to wait. It had felt like hours had passed before Greg hurried in. “I heard what happened! Did you beat her?”

  
“No.”

  
“Who?”

  
“Don’t know. I think she was a Pink Court. She hit all of the gems with this weapon…” Steven pulled out the handle and pressed the button. Greg let out a yelp at the scythe. He pressed the button again and tucked the handle back into his pocket. “Then she hit me. I tried summoning my shield earlier. It didn’t work- none of my powers are working! I have no idea what’s going on.”

  
His dad chuckled. “Now you know how I feel. But where is she?”

  
“She jumped onto the injector outside. I called Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot to keep an eye out.”

  
“Well, don’t worry.” Greg picked up Pearl’s gem. “Wait a little and then the gems will be back, good as new!” There was a glow as Pearl’s gem lifted up. “See, here she comes! Good old Pearl-” The two blinked when a blue seashell form appeared around the gem. “That’s new.”

  
_“Please identify yourself.”_ a voice said. It sounded like Pearl, but robotic.

  
“Um…Greg Universe?”

  
“Welcome, Um Greg Universe. Please state customization options.”

  
“What should I say?” Greg whispered. Steven shrugged. “I don’t know-”

  
_“Setting your Pearl to default mode. Please hold.”_

  
Then the shell opened and Pearl stepped out. “Pearl!” The sixteen-year-old cried. She didn’t look at him. Instead, she walked past him up to Greg. Then she opened her mouth.

  
And then Steven couldn’t help but think:

  
_Oh no._


	2. Chapter 2

“It’s a rejuvenator.”

Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot had set up a station to watch the injector. The first was examining the scythe. “Homeworld used this if gems started stepping out of line. One hit from this and you’re back to the way they made you.” There was a grim look on her face. “Peri, what’s the news on the injector?”

“Nothing yet. I haven’t found out anything about that Spinel either.”

Steven grinned. “Her name is Spinel? That’s great!” There was a moment of silence. “...What’s a Spinel?”

“They’re jesters.” Bismuth said, handing the rejuvenator handle back to him. He tucked it into his pocket. “Little bit higher rank than a pearl, meant to entertain the elite.”

Peridot nodded, tapping on her tablet. “She’s definitely an Era 1 though.”

He raised a brow. “What makes you say that?”

“Well, Spinels were discontinued when Era 2 started and Homeworld started running low on resources. They took too much resources that could be used for more useful gems and sacrifices had to be made.” Peridot’s voice was devoid of emotion, like whenever she talked about a subject like this. “They’re what you consider rare collectibles now.”

“She’s gone.”

Everyone turned to Lapis. “What?”

“She was hanging out on the base when we got here! Look!” She pointed and everyone followed her finger. Steven paled when he realized that the spot was empty.

“Okay, nobody panic! Someone should sound the alarm, make people know her face and to-” Pink gloves wrapped around him. “Never mind, I found her.” Then he was yanked back and off his feet, a cry escaping him.

Steven landed on his back with a grunt as the wind was knocked out of him. He looked up to see Spinel’s wide grin. A hand moved...and a finger booped his nose. “Boop.”

He blinked.

Befuddled confusion turned to anger.

“YOU!”

He tackled her to the ground, grabbing her shoulders and starting to shake. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO US!? I mean, I know you did some sort of factory reset, but  _ seriously! _ WHY?”

Spinel let out a warped giggle, pulling his hands off. “That’s for me to know and you to never.” Using her odd rubber limbs, she stood, dropping Steven to the ground. “And you have to admit it, they’re pretty funny like this.” Spinel nodded to Ruby and Sapphire. The former was marching in front of the latter, who was standing still.

Steven could’ve pulled out his hair from the frustration. “No! No, they aren’t!”

“Woah!”

The two looked up to see the trio of gems. Each one was wide eyed. “You certainly don’t look like any of the Spinels I’ve seen.” Lapis said. “Your gem is upside down.”

“And you certainly ain’t any of the gems I know.” Spinel shot back with a frown, slinging an arm over Steven’s shoulder. “What kinda gem are you?”

Lapis looked taken aback at the question. “Um...I’m a Lapis Lazuli.”

“What’s that?”

Everyone stared at her. Steven gulped before speaking. “Spinel, do you know what any of these gems are?”

Spinel studied each of the gems before shaking her head. “Um...nope! The only gems I know of are the Diamonds and Pearls- oh, and me!” She did a little bow before releasing him. “Anyway, see you around Baby Pink!”

Before he could say a word, she bounced away.

“I have no idea what to do.” Steven whispered, storing the odd piece of info away. He glanced back at the injector. Was it his imagination or was the pink liquid lower now? His eyes landed on the pieces of Garnet. 

“Garnet would know what to do.”

Bismuth’s hand clapped onto his shoulder. “Aw, don’t worry! We’ll think of something! We’re the Crystal Gems!”

Yeah.

Yeah, they were!

* * *

Honestly, this was probably the greatest game Spinel had ever come up with.

She was perched behind a nearby sign, watching as Pink’s son head down to the town, followed by the others. Spinel smirked at her injector. When she had been created, hundreds of game ideas had been crafted in her. In her opinion, the best games had a time limit.

She pulled out the odd fabric square she had picked from Steven’s pocket. Flipping it open, she moved past the green paper in there to find paper squares containing images. All of them showed Steven, having fun with his friends. She paused at one.

It showed Steven younger, holding a bouquet of flowers. His grin send a happy little wave through her gem. She couldn’t help it- she had been made for a pink diamond, made to see and bring them happiness.

Spinel pulled the photo out and tucked it into her gem.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The puzzle solution!

Steven had been at this for an hour, trying to figure out a way to get the Gems’s memories back. The three remaining had no idea how to reverse it and Amethyst and Pearl were still with his dad. He paced, keeping an eye on Ruby and Sapphire. He finally stopped with an exhausted groan.

“I have no idea…”

“What if it’s like a puzzle?”

He let out a shriek, jumping with a turn. Spinel was sprawled out on the ground, working on what looked like a jigsaw puzzle. “Wha- How long have you been here?!”

“‘Bout the time you started pulling your hair. Here.”

He caught...his wallet? Feeling the changed weight, Steven stuffed it into his pocket. “What were you saying?”

“Well, if you give them all the pieces, they’ll get the picture.”

He blinked.

“That...that’s genius!”

“Really?” Spinel said, returning her gaze to the puzzle. She squinted at the piece in her hand. “Then why can’t I…?”

Steven plucked the piece from her fingers and set it in the proper place.

“Oh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am welcome to questions at my Tumblr of starrosecolors!


	4. Chapter 4

With the puzzle idea in mind, Steven considered Ruby and Sapphire. “Okay, so Ruby was Sapphire’s bodyguard.” Peridot, Bismuth, and Lapis nodded. Spinel was still distracted with her puzzle. “She saved her from being poofed by Pearl. So…”

“It sounds simple!” Peridot said. “All we gotta do is create a dangerous situation. Ruby saves Sapphire and then they’ll fall in love and poof! We got a Garnet!”

“Do you have something dangerous?”

“Well, let’s check!” Peridot hurried to a trash bin. Steven followed. “Let’s see what we got.” While she was rummaging, Spinel poked his shoulder and handed him the box the puzzle must’ve come in. Steven peeked inside the puzzle box- the puzzle was done. “Aha!”

She held up…

“A giant pizza cutter?” He raised a brow. Peridot pressed a button with a proud smile. The giant buzz-saw roared to life. “Woah, woah, no! Maybe something less dangerous?”

The green gem sighed, throwing it aside. “Have it your way.” 

She returned to picking through the bin. Steven looked around, noticing the lack of a pink gem. “Hey, where’s Sp- Spinel, no!” She had picked up the buzz saw and was staring at it curiously. Steven barely had time to hear Sapphire say “Shenanigans will ensue.” before Spinel pressed the button.

The saw roared to life.

Spinel let out a yell as the saw hit the ground and started running. She gripped as tight as she could, before her fingers slipped off. Steven caught her. The gems watched with wide eyes as the saw ran.

Then it cut a load bearing rope.

Bricks fell where Ruby and Sapphire stood. Steven let out a yell, trying to focus his power. Ruby supported the shaky shield he managed to form, a quiet conversation happening between the two small gems. Then his willpower collapsed.

The bricks came down…

And a shining light appeared.


End file.
